Judas Priest and the venue they played in San Francisco last night have something strangely in common. Over twenty years ago, on the British Steel Tour, Judas Priest sold out the Warfield; twenty years later, both are still around looking none the worse for wear. Priest have definitely had their ups and downs over the years – the Nevada teen suicide case, the departure of the Metal God himself, Rob Halford, and perhaps the disappointing sales of their latest album, Demolition. However, anyone who witnessed Priest’s show at the Warfield realized that despite all of this, the band is as strong as ever. Quite frankly, Judas Priest on any given night is mightier than most bands out there.

The band treated the sold out San Francisco audience to an hour and forty-five minute set consisting of several tunes from the Tim “Ripper” Owens era, others from their ‘80s heyday, and even more classics from their beginnings in the ‘70s. Set openers “Metal Gods” and “Heading out to the Highway” had everyone from the floor to the balcony on their feet from the very beginning, and the audience, seemingly full of die-hard fans, sang along with every word of classics ‘Victim of Changes,” “Green Manilishi,” and “Breaking the Law.” Despite the mixed reviews that Priest’s current album is receiving, “One on One” and “Hell is Home” fared quite well live and received a good response. The real treat of the evening was hearing Priest play several songs that they had not performed in over a decade or more. “Desert Plains,” “Turbo Lover,” and “United” were terrific additions to the set (despite the fact that mainstays such as “You’ve got Another Thing Coming” had to be dropped to fit them in). It’s hard to tell what the future holds for Judas Priest, but it’s certain that the duel guitar attack of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, devastating rhythm section of Ian Hill and Scott Travis (the man is a human drum tornado), and banshee-like vocalist “Ripper” Owens will always be welcome in the Bay Area.

Anthrax opened the show with a sleek, fifty-minute set laced with speed-metal classics and one new song. VH1 was present to fill footage for the upcoming Anthrax: Behind the Music (due in February), and captured the band in fine form, performing “Among the Living,” “Caught in a Mosh,” and of course “Bring the Noise.” If new tune “Superhero” is any indication, the next Anthrax disc should be a heavy classic, and return them to the speed/thrash/rap-metal throne.

Judas Priest Set List:
Metal Gods
Heading Out to the Highway
Touch of Evil
Blood Stained
Victim of Changes
One on One
Diamonds and Rust
Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
Beyond the Realms of Death
Burn in Hell
Hell is Home
Breaking the Law
Desert Plains
Turbo Lover
Painkiller

Encores:
Hellion/Electric Eye
United
Living After Midnight
Hell Bent for Leather

Anthrax Set List:

Among the Living
Got the Time
Fueled
Inside Out
Room for One More
Superhero (new song)
Antisocial
Caught in a Mosh
Bring the Noise
Only